{"id":20773,"date":"2018-06-26T10:46:50","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T14:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=20773"},"modified":"2018-06-26T10:46:50","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T14:46:50","slug":"the-dark-knight-and-why-its-the-wwes-biggest-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/06\/26\/the-dark-knight-and-why-its-the-wwes-biggest-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Knight And Why It’s The WWE’s Biggest Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dark<\/strong> Knight<\/strong>,\u00a0for those who don’t know, was a movie that changed the film industry forever.\u00a0 The character-driven plot surrounding\u00a0Batman<\/strong> and Joker<\/strong> was unlike anything fans had ever seen in such a mainstream setting.\u00a0 Gone was the campy dancing Batman who was virtually unstoppable, much like heroes of prior years like\u00a0WWE<\/strong>‘s Hulk Hogan\u00a0<\/strong>or fellow DC Superhero\u00a0Superman<\/strong>, and in his place was an imperfect character who was psychologically scarred and questions himself and shows that he is human underneath the mask.\u00a0 Much like Batman redefined heroes,\u00a0Heath Ledger\u00a0<\/strong>redefined what it meant to be a villain.\u00a0 This Joker was not over the top evil, he was just a sick, twisted individual\u00a0who just wanted to watch the world burn around him.\u00a0 With every box office record broken, it soon became clear that people no longer wanted\u00a0perfect heroes and black and white characters, what they wanted now was real characters and dark stories that tackled the issues around them instead of pretending a masked superhero will suddenly save you.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Warner Bros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What does this have to do with the WWE?\u00a0 Well, for years the company had been based on one thing.\u00a0 The heroic baby face that kisses babies and never does wrong, overcoming the evildoer.\u00a0 Time and time again we saw Hulk Hogan and\u00a0Bruno Sammartino\u00a0<\/strong>defeat evildoers like\u00a0Andre The Giant, The Iron Shiek, Yokozuna\u00a0<\/strong>and many, many more.\u00a0 And while this worked for decades creating a mainstream star like\u00a0John Cena<\/strong>,\u00a0it will no longer cut it.\u00a0 Just look at\u00a0Roman Reigns\u00a0<\/strong>and compare him to\u00a0Star-Lord,<\/strong> Reigns has never done anything to be likable, he is handsome, charismatic and so clearly better than all of us.\u00a0 Yet we are meant to cheer him because he oooaaaaaa’s?\u00a0 Star-Lord\/Peter Quill never knew his father, making him become very close to his mother.\u00a0 He often lied about his father’s whereabouts as would many children in a similar position.\u00a0 He would then lose his mother at a young age and continues to carry a mix-tape she made for him to this day.\u00a0 Does every character need a tragic backstory? No, of course not.\u00a0 But in this case, Quill is worth rooting for and will connect with so many people who have either lost parents or never knew their father.\u00a0 Compare that to Reigns, the golden child whose family legacy is one of the greatest in the business.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This problem also applies to the heels in the WWE.\u00a0 With the popularity of Joker and demand for movies like\u00a0Suicide Squad<\/strong>,\u00a0people now more than ever love evil, darker characters because they are often more interesting and sometimes the most relatable.\u00a0 People now almost look up to cheaters and people\u00a0who take shortcuts because they wish they could be like that.\u00a0 They relate to a\u00a0Bray<\/strong> Wyatt<\/strong>,\u00a0who in prior decades would have been a psychotic madman that fans feared, but now has his “fireflies” who can believe in his message and who often agree with his negative perception of the world around him.\u00a0 The real issue here is that WWE being PG doesn’t allow them to portray villains in a way that actually makes people feel hatred anymore,\u00a0 A real villain must now be so heinous and vile that nobody could ever think to cheer them, much like how the Joker was too psychotic for people to truly cheer him and his acts of villainy hurt a character they actually cared about.\u00a0 The WWE could never have a Joker without them turning into Bray Wyatt, they cannot add enough layers within the PG confines and at the end of the day, the fact they fail to build likable characters hurts their chances too.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With many franchises following the Dark Knight’s method to huge mainstream success, it would be in WWE’s best interest to follow in the footsteps of Marvel, DC and even\u00a0New Japan Pro Wrestling<\/strong>.\u00a0 Arguably NJPW’s biggest star right now is the perfect representation of the Dark Knight and its imperfect, shades of grey characters. That man is the one an only, the ungovernable one himself,\u00a0Tetsuya Naito.\u00a0<\/strong> Just a few short years ago, Naito was Roman Reigns.\u00a0 No good traits, no real personality, oodles of talent and a very apparent golden spoon.\u00a0 He shed this image and traded it in for his ways of Tranquilo.\u00a0 He stopped trying to please others, no longer cared what others thought of him and found strength in accepting the most unique faction members in New Japan history.\u00a0 Being yourself and accepting those around you is a very “in” thing in 2018 and the fact that Naito accepted his faults and improved himself and learned to accept\u00a0BUSHI<\/strong>,\u00a0Hiromu Takahashi,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0EVIL\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0SANADA\u00a0<\/strong>to create a group with an unmatched aesthetic as outsiders has caught in with fans all over the world.\u00a0 Naito saw that he wasn’t perfect, he changed, he calmed down, he learned to accept the right help from the right people and that is why fans have come to love the group so much.\u00a0 We are all Naito at some point, left reflecting on why things aren’t working and having to look inside ourselves to improve and change and eventually no longer caring for the bright lights and cool friends.\u00a0 The only problem, like Naito, you never really leave that behind.\u00a0 Naito was cost the title at WrestleKingdom 12<\/strong><\/em> by showboating to the fans and caring what people thought again and seeing his name in lights.\u00a0 Naito screwed Naito.\u00a0 And because of that, he is like any of us, not perfect, layered, complex but always ready to get up again with our faction\/friends by our side.<\/p>\n

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Photo: NJPW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Very recent developments do show WWE leaning into more shade of gray characters like Ronda Rousey<\/strong>,\u00a0who is attempting to be a modern day PG “Stone Cold”\u00a0<\/strong>Steve Austin<\/strong>.\u00a0 The overall character of Steve Austin could not exist today with the bird flipping, F-bombing and beer drinking being as anti-PG as possible.\u00a0 Where his character WOULD still work though is the common man taking on his boss.\u00a0 And that is the aspect the WWE needs to emphasize for Rousey to work as a modern day Austin.\u00a0 She can’t drink beer and flip off\u00a0Stephanie McMahon\u00a0<\/strong>but she can kick ass and respond to situations in a human way.\u00a0 Austin would go to the ring and Stunner his boss and escape prison on a daily basis.\u00a0 We could never do that, what we get is what Rousey got a suspension for responding to being poked and prodded by the golden girl and it is in that reaction that Rousey could work.\u00a0 Rousey isn’t a smiley baby kisser nor is she a drunken madman.\u00a0 She is a badass who will take out her anger on all those who cross her.\u00a0 Morality goes out the window with Rousey if you cross her and THAT is the most human reaction of all.\u00a0 How many times has someone angered you but fearing the consequences you say nothing?\u00a0 on the flip side, how many times have you said f**k the consequences and reacted?\u00a0 that is the beauty of Rousey her reactions are human and she fights for what she sees is right she fights for herself just as we all do.\u00a0 It’s in that complex character who while not pure and good is still a hero because she fights evil and it is because she is not supposed to be pure that fans have reacted so well to everything she does.\u00a0 PG isn’t to blame for WWE’s failure to create stars, the basics of every character can be told in a PG way and not everyone needs to swear and be too cool or too meta it’s all about creating more characters like Rousey and allowing them to interact that will help the WWE finally create their new John Cena.<\/p>\n